One year after blowing a 3-0 series lead to Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Bruins are again up 3-0 on the Flyers in the same round.

Zdeno Chara scored twice and Nathan Horton recorded a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” as the Bruins rolled 5-1 in Game 3 tonight at the TD Garden.

The Bruins have talked all year about learning their lesson from last year, and now we’ll get to find out what they learned.

“Yeah, obviously the toughest win to get is the fourth win, so we’ve got to make sure we’re ready on Friday [for Game 4],” said center Patrice Bergeron after the game. “We’re happy with tonight’s game, but we can’t get too high in the playoffs. We’re going to celebrate tonight, but we’re going to get right back to work tomorrow and make sure we work Friday, because Philly is not going to quit.”

Here’s a quick glance at the box score:

•Chara added an assist to his two goals and was plus-4 on the night.

•Horton, Daniel Paille and David Krejci scored Boston’s other goals.

•For the third time in three games in this series the Flyers used two goaltenders. Brian Boucher was pulled after he allowed four goals on 20 shots. Sergei Bobrovsky made seven saves on eight shots in relief.

A great effort from every player tonight. I’m really impressed at how this year’s new players and Seidenberg have elevated their game from the regular season. The Flyers have spent too much time reminding everyone about last season while the series is slipping away from them. The Bruns are a much better and healthier team right now than last year.
Off topic but I’m shocked the Caps got swept by the Lightning.